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Mojo’s Favorite Albums of 2023

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The amount of excellent heavy rock that came out this year was overwhelming.

Truly, the amount of music in general that was released in 2023 was more than I could possibly keep up with. I gave up trying to do a weekly pick and just started this list earlier than usual because it was all too much. And then a strange thing happened – my list became filled with bands I didn’t know or never heard before. In fact, I’d say the bulk of the list is surprises instead of the usual sprinkling of fun finds. Pleasant surprises, to be sure. I hope you see some of your favorites from the past year here, and if not may some of these become new favorites.

The usual disclaimer – these are not my attempt at picking the best albums of 2023, but instead this list represents the ones that I kept returning to in the midst of the wonderful flood of new music we happily drowned in this year. Also – you’ll notice that I use Bandcamp links whenever possible – that’s because even purchasing a single song from an artist on Bandcamp will put more money in their pocket than a month or even a year of streaming. Support artists!

The Lord Knows by Tidal Wave
This fuzz rock gem came out in January and immediately set the bar for the rest of the year. If you dig Freedom Hawk and Valley of the Sun, you’ll love this second release from Swedish rockers The Lord Knows.

Superskull by Black Rainbows
Italy’s premier psych rock band Black Rainbows may have dropped their masterpiece with Superskull. I love them long time, but this one is probably my favorite, and certainly got the most virtual spins of any album this year. Just killer psyched out fuzz rock.

Rebuilding the Mountain by Royal Thunder
Raw and real, the second album by the regrouped and revitalized Royal Thunder is a mature musical slap in the face reminiscent of the Dead Weather and PJ Harvey. The more I listen, the more I like. 

Low Desert Surf Club by Fire Down Below
Part grower, part shower, this is the third full length from one of my favorite bands, Belgium’s desert rockers Fire Down Below. Definitely some surf rock influence injected into their upbeat fuzz guitar rock on this one.

The Infinite Mirror by Ritual King
Just when I had my list set, this album comes out and gets under my skin with alarming ease. Grungy, spacey, and full of great guitar grooves paired with pleasing vocals. I have a feeling this Ritual King release will be on many AOTY lists.

Bloodlines by Tygers of Pan Tang
Unlikely? Yes. On point for a year of resurgent 80s and 90s artists? Also yes. A standout among retro rock albums to come out this year? I’m as surprised as you are, but the latest album from classic NWOBHM rockers Tygers of Pan Tang kicks serious ass. They sound better than ever and blow away other retro rock releases with ease.

Glass Future by Howling Giant
Fans of ASG, Valley of the Sun, and the Sword will love the second full length from Nashville’s new star of the psych and prog rock scene. This semi-concept album from Howling Giant was a nice October surprise.

Full Circle by Dead Feathers
The sophomore release from Chicago’s Dead Feathers is simply an amazingly solid outing from a band that sounds like they’ve been around for ages. Impossible not to add this gem to the list.

The Shining Son by Appalooza
“French Desert Rock”. Shades of classic Alice in Chains and Red Fang on this future classic from Appalooza.

Annihilation by Elephant Groove
Amazing Italian psych fuzz, for fans of My Sleeping Karma and Mr Bison. That bass tone!

Cassini by Orbitron
German instrumental guitar rock, very much in the vein of My Sleeping Karma, with a little more 70s prog rock influence. I wish it were longer.

Rebel Heart Gypsy Soul EP by Ten Ton Mojo
Fun, fuzzy blues rock from New York City? It may chap your hide to discover that it’s quite good. Mixed and mastered by the incomparable Max Norman, this one is just ten tons of fun in 4 songs.

The Eightfold Path by Dead Shrine
Killer psych rock guitar grooves from New Zealand.

Fuzzrider by Fuzzrider
Dark, dirty, heavy blues from Athens, Greece, just the way I like it. Adding Fuzzrider to my roster of favorite Greek heavy bands along with 1000mods, Puta Volcano, and Nightstalker.

Blurring the Lines of Reality by Borracho
Heavy hypnotic fuzz rock from Washington DC. Something about this album makes me think it would be perfect to throw on in the garage when you’re working on your car.

This Heathen Land by Green Lung
Fans of Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden and yes, even Ghost will dig the latest full length by London’s Green Lung. Breathe it deep!

Honorable mentions – albums I enjoyed and admired this year that didn’t quite make it into the rotation:

  • Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds Why not the Rolling Stones? Honestly a good album from the geezers.
  • Godsmack – Lighting up the Sky I think the rockers knock it pretty well out of the park with what is reported to be their last studio album.
  • Nita Strauss – The Call of the Void Nita’s world class shredding and some great assists by the likes of David Draiman and Lzzy Hale give this one a lot to offer.
  • Last in Line – Jericho Solid heavy rock record from former members of Dio and other classic metal bands.


Bonus – once again, I’ve created a Spotify playlist of selected songs from the albums listed here, enjoy! Micropayments for everyone!

What are your favorite albums of 2023? Comment below or let me know!

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Mojo’s Pick of the Week – Death by Rock and Roll by The Pretty Reckless

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Taylor Momsen and crew have delivered another album of dark beauty, at turns hard and soft, at turns full of fire and full of loss, longing, and lament. Death by Rock and Roll is the long-awaited followup to 2016’s excellent and gritty Who You Selling For. Death by Rock and Roll is a more polished, less raw album than Who, less energetic, but certainly not lacking its own emotional rollercoaster.

I had the privilege of being part of an online album release party, complete with Q&A with Taylor herself, who is wise and mature beyond her years. We got to listen to her talk about her classic rock influences (The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, among others), and her year in relative solitude, all of which is reflected in some way on the new album, which features cameos by Tom Morello, Matt Cameron, and Kim Thayil. The album cover, she said, is quite symbolic, shot on a real gravesite, with her fetal pose surrounded by death while looking towards the light and away from the darkness.

Over the past few years I’ve become quite a TPR fan, and hope to see more join the ranks as this talented bunch spearheaded by this gifted powerhouse singer/songwriter deserves all the attention in the world. Check out Death by Rock and Roll today.

Standout tracks: Death by Rock and Roll, 25, And So it Went, Witches Burn

Find The Pretty Reckless on the web:
https://deathbyrockandroll.com/
https://twitter.com/TPROfficial
https://www.instagram.com/theprettyreckless
https://www.facebook.com/theprettyreckless/

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Mojo’s Favorite Albums of 2020

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Vinyl RecordWhatever else happened this year — and it was a lot — it was still a very good year for music.

2020 saw the surprise returns of Fiona Apple, AC/DC, Deep Purple, Armored Saint, Public Enemy, and the Smashing Pumpkins. We got great new albums by Ozzy, Taylor Swift (yeah I said it), and Testament, among others. But as I say every year, this is not an attempt at listing what I think are the best new albums of the year, but instead the ones that got under my skin and stuck around on repeat for a while.

I do enjoy making this list. I listen to tons of music all year (Spotify tells me that on their platform alone I listened to 423 new artists for 25,914 minutes in 2020!) This list gives me a chance to share albums that might not be more widely known, and also to revisit music I’ve missed, when I take time in early December to look back and catch up. As usual, there’s a few you’ll know, a few you won’t, and a surprise or two!

AMMA by Puta Volcano


Normally I say ‘in no particular order’ but these are a little bit in order. I unashamedly love Athenian rockers Puta Volcano and I had this album on hard repeat on and off all year. AMMA is a little less up front and obvious than Dune, their previous full length, which is one of my all-time favorite albums, but that just means there’s more to grow on here. Dig in!

Refractions by Lowrider


Speaking of surprise returns! After a 20 year break between albums (take that, Tool!), Sweden’s legendary Lowrider dropped this bomb in early 2020, causing shockwaves throughout the heavy music world. Refractions is the awesome follow up to Io, the now-classic debut by these seminal stoner rockers. I expect to see this album on a lot of year-end best-of lists.

Dead Star by King Buffalo


King Buffalo quickly came out of seemingly nowhere to become one of my favorite bands in the last couple of years, and I was really looking forward to seeing them again in SF this past spring, before the world got cancelled. Dead Star is a semi-concept EP bridging the gap between 2018’s critically-acclaimed Longing to be the Mountain and whatever masterpiece they cook up next. Just killer progressive stoner rock that you don’t listen to as much as experience.

Habits by Elephant Tree


Elephant Tree is one of those bands that if you know, you know. Granted, I had never heard of them until Jamie from San Francisco’s Brume told me about them some years ago. But I was hooked instantly on their hypnotic brand of psychedelic space rock, which has one foot in the 60s and one in the future. Habits is the highly anticipated follow up to their 2016 self-titled album, and it definitely doesn’t disappoint.

Acid Communion by Bone Church


Balls out, straight ahead rock and roll, just turn it up and get your headbang on. Heavy 70s style Aussie hard rock in the vein of Sabbath, Deep Purple, Rainbow. It’s just feel good, top down, get your ya-yas out bluesy heavy guitar rock.

Mother by In This Moment

In This Moment - Mother

Maria Brink and crew bring their special brand of hair-raising cathartic power and emotion to In This Moment‘s newest release, Mother. With powerful covers of songs like Fly Like an Eagle and We Will Rock You (feat. Lzzy Hale of Halestorm), as well as amazing originals like The In-Between, the latest from In This Moment is a must listen.

Father of all Motherfuckers by Green Day

Part QUOTSA, part early Beatles, all Green Day and a whole lot of fun. A little less cynical, and a little more power pop, Father of all Motherfuckers is an energetic treat, with a lot of nods to early rock and roll in its peppy songs and polished production. I love that these guys just keep on doing their thing and dgaf what anyone thinks of their sonic experimentations.

Ohms by Deftones

Deftones are an acquired taste, and I wonder if people out there who love classic Deftones will feel like this is watered-down, accessible Deftones, but then again who cares, it’s just good. Relentless raw nerve vocals alternated with mellow melodies over staccato beats, Ohms is… well, it’s Deftones.

Casting the Circle by High Priestess


Casting the Circle is the second full length release by LA doom trio High Priestess. If you’re unfamiliar with the psychedelic swirls and melodic mist of High Priestess’ magical brand of doom rock, then now’s your chance to dive in and get caught in their spell.

Reverie by Forming the Void


Somehow, while I was listening to Reverie on repeat, trying to decide if I liked it or not, it wormed its way into my psyche and lodged there for several weeks. The funny thing is that this album sounds very much like it doesn’t care if you like it or not, it is what it is despite it all — crushingly heavy pounding fuzz rock, swirling through time and space and passing through your brain on its way.

Valhalla by Wolftooth


Wolftooth is back and has stepped up their game with their second full length, Valhalla, sounding more like the best of the Sword than they did on their self-titled 2018 debut. just pure riff rock fury in NWOBHM style from these Louisiana metalheads.

The Woes of a Mortal Earth by Brimstone Coven


Wait, another 70s Sabbath-sounding blues rock band? Well, yeah, but it’s, you know, really fucking good so just go listen to it okay? Bonus: cowbell!

Love Like Machines by the Heavy Eyes


Last but not least is the latest from Louisiana rockers The Heavy Eyes, Love Like Machines. Not to be confused with the now-defunct Flying Eyes, who they call to mind on this fuzzed out feast of funky catchy riffs. Fans of Kyuss, Clutch, and Freedom Hawk will dig this one, a future desert rock classic.

Honorable mentions – Ordinary Man by Ozzy, Excruciation by Curse the Son, Cyr by Smashing Pumpkins, Scorpio by Atomic Bitchwax; What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down? by Public Enemy, Si Vis Paceum, Para Bellum by Seether. And honestly I wanted to like Marilyn Manson’s latest We Are Chaos but I didn’t.

Bonus – this year I’ve created a Spotify playlist of selected songs from the albums listed here, enjoy! Micropayments for everyone!

What are your favorite albums of 2020? Comment below or let me know!

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